Carraig-Na-Thulhum
Ruled by the Dwarven Grimnar Clan, Carraig-Na-Thulhum was built upon the great underground freshwater lake revealed to the Dwarves by the Undergod. The underground city is located near the Lion Sound on the shore of the Imarra Desert. Carraig-Na-Thulhum is often referred to as "The City Of The Undergod'" and "The Holiest Of All Dwarven Cities" due to the Great Fortress-Cathedral that dominates the surrounding city and the sheer power the church wields in Carraig-Na-Thulhum's politics. History The Undergod first created the 7 Fathers of the Dwarves, each one of the seven fathers became a king of his own clan, and each built his own great hall. 3 fathers went to the surface, 3 fathers stayed below, of the seventh nothing is known. The Grimnars had always lived below the surface and did not even know it existed. The Grimnars used to have a vast underground empire called the Underway which they shared with the other Dwarf clans, Although Clan Longbeard wanted the Underway for themselves so they could control Dwarven trade and travel. The Underway stretched from the Mezzomare to the North Sea but then came the Time Of Loss. The World shook as if the gods were shaking it like a snow globe, Magma burst forth, destroying many holds in seconds and entire fortresses collapsed as the rock above was cast asunder. For a year, the Deep Dwarves' empire collapsed, hold by hold, tunnel by tunnel, until only a few tunnels remained open. The Grimnars then took refuge in the City of Naugrim-Tur, where they became the ruling family with a series of strategic marriages. There the Grimnars spent their days until the Longbeards, hoping to rebuild the Underway, dug too deep and released the Balrog Ulura from it's stony imprisonment. Ulura destroyed Naugrim-tur and scattered the Dwarves to the winds. The Grimnars fled through what remained of the Underway but were set upon by an army of Skaven. The Grimnars were almost lost yet on the third day, when everything was at it's grimmest, the Undergod gave the Grimnars the army needed to defeat the Skaven. The Dwarves emerged in mountains to the far east of where they are now. Venturing across the wastes, despite the Dwarves numbers slowly diminishing due to the predations of bandits and thirst, the Dwarves' faith did not shrink an inch. The Dwarves stopped to camp for the night near a bay, and in the night, the Undergod came once again to his children and opened the ground beneath them, revealing a cave of gigantic proportions and within it was a freshwater lake. Carraig-Na-Thulhum was built upon the great underground freshwater lake. Ever since, the Dwarves have slowly expanded their territories and influence coming to control all of the Lion Sound in recent times with the annexation of Alisphere. Culture Being a highly loyal race, this applies to everything - from kin to their religion. The dwarves value family ties and friendship above all else. In addition, more often than not professions are passed down through generations, with each dwarf improving on the teachings of the last. As such, a dwarf will do anything to defend their house and their surname, even sacrificing themselves with the goal of preserving the reputation of their kin. However, family is not the only thing that matters. The Undergod plays a very important role in the daily lives of the dwarves who call Carraig-Na-Thulhum their home. Their religion is purely monotheistic, although the different clans of the dwarves worship different personalities or "facets" of the Undergod, in Carraig-Na-Thulhum this is considered heresy and the priests only spread this idea to gain more power and unite the clans after the fall of Naugrim-Tur. Due to this, the priests are a little bit lenient on the subject. The only thing that outnumbers holy artifacts in Carraig-Na-Thulhum is slaves. Due to the conquest of lands such as Alisphere there are many slaves in Carraig-Na-Thulhum. Most of these slaves are human but many other races make up the slave population. Dwarves are buried by having their skeleton encased in a stone statue which is then placed in the Fortress-Cathedral or in the catacombs that snake beneath the city. If your body is lost and cannot be entombed in these statues it is viewed as being a lost soul and will forever haunt it's relatives until it's body is found and buried. It is said that in times of great need the statues will be possessed by the ghosts of the fallen to aid in the final battle. Population Carraig-Na-Thulhum's population numbers near 500,000 citizens, Dwarfsons and slaves. About 70% of the population is Dwarves and 30% are slaves but many different races live outside the city in large merchant villages, selling what they can to whoever dares leave the gates. Magic Most people with magical talent join the priesthood, either willingly or forcefully. Few manage to escape the priesthood though. A few with minor talents in magic, however, become Runesmiths since all the magic potential you need is enough to remember the symbols, characters and images. Runes Runes are a means of storing (and triggering) magic/spells by drawing special characters, symbols or images. Runes are used in all sorts of magic, from summoning to a simple fireball. The character, symbol or image in quite potent in itself but the Dwarves of Clan Grimnar, during the reign of Gofdan the Gifted, made a discovery that made runes become even more powerful, insanely so. This discovery was called Blood Metal, a dull red metal in colour, extremely soft and melts at low temperatures. Blood Metal made runes both significantly more powerful and allowed Runes to be drawn on skin, as a scar via the use of Forcibles made from Blood Metal. Forcibles are magical branding irons. By lining runes carved into armour, walls, swords etc. with Blood Metal it increased the potency of the rune. However, Blood Metal is extremely rare and therefore extremely expensive. Although there is a banned and unused way of using Blood Metal, using a forcible you can take the attribute of another creature, such as sight, and transfer it. This is considered dark magic and is dishonourable to use. Runes drawn in the air, dirt, water or etc. also have some power although very little. Some peasants know runes of protection which they draw into the dirt at their doorsteps and other such places.